Our time is shaped numerous spinning events, whether it’s the rotation of the sun’s planets or shift workers shifting between day and evening shifts. Some of them happen daily while others are unpredictable and irregular.

Precession is one of these periodic events that happen more regularly. It is the Earth’s slow wobble on its rotational axis. The wobble is similar to a slightly off-center rotating toy top. This varying rotational angle in relation to fixed stars, or inertial space, is an entire cycle of 25,771.5. This is why Ferris wheel or carousels along with other enjoyable rides have to have a bar that is solid and running from side to side. The Coriolis effect is another rotating event. It is a mysterious force that pushes a freely moving body system, which influences its revolving motion on a climatic scale. This is the cause of many weather patterns, including the alternating direction of cyclones on the upper and southern hemispheres.

While the majority of people are aware that the earth rotates on its axis 24 hours a day but many are unaware that the speed of the rotation varies. This means that days may feel longer or shorter than what’s expected. The atomic clocks, that maintain an established time, have to be fine-tuned periodically. This type of change is called a leap second. This article will discuss what it is and why it’s crucial to our lives.

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